Secure power specialist Dale Power Solutions has begun its 75th anniversary year with 75% order intake growth in the first six months of 2010.
As it looks back on a history which has taken it from humble beginnings to a global brand, renowned for its technical expertise and engineering excellence, Dale's range of new and existing products is seizing a bigger share of the market.
In all sectors – generator sets, uninterruptible power supply [UPS] battery products under the Erskine brand and in service and maintenance – Dale is enjoying international success. As part of the secure power division of TT electronics, it now employs 600 people worldwide with circa $120 million per annum.
Each year Dale supplies more than 3,000 generator and battery-backed UPS worldwide and services more than 4,000 generator sets and UPS systems. Key customers are in sectors as diverse as oil and gas, industry, telecoms, hospitals, finance, tourism, leisure, and many more.
Against a backdrop of global recession, Dale is currently recruiting new apprentices, graduates and experienced staff to further strengthen its operation as it looks to meet future demand.
A new containerised generator set, the Dale Secure Power Series, is already selling well, just months since its introduction. Aimed primarily at the hire market, the range includes the Secure 1600 which sets new parameters for off-the-shelf containerised generating sets, packing step loads of up to 800kW into a 20ft container.
Dale is continuously seeking new markets across the world and expects continuing strong demand to come from the petrochemical industry, already a key sector for UPS and DC products. Dale has developed a new range of standard UPS systems alongside its Erskine branded industrial UPS products, designed specifically to work with its range of generator sets to provide an integrated solution and guarantee continuous power to its customers.
A new range of service products is also in the pipeline, an area of the marketplace where Dale's vast technical background and expertise – going back 75 years – has already made it a global name. Comprehensive service and maintenance, drawing on a team of more than 80 service personnel, helps key clients worldwide protect and prolong the life of their products.
The excellent start to 2010 has delighted managing director Tim Wilkins. He puts it down to a positive proactive workforce working very hard to meet customers' demands together with a strong product line-up and the development of new sales and service outlets, most recently in Swindon, Aberdeen and Sharjah.
"We have seen a very strong order intake for the first six months of 2010 and are pleased with the success of new and existing products," he said.
"We have strengthened our sales department and thanks to our new range of products and the strength of our existing generator, UPS and sales and maintenance products, we have captured a greater share of the market, both in the UK and export."
He puts the longevity and success of the brand down to excellent technical expertise, design capability, project management, installation and ongoing servicing.
"It continues to be our ability to discuss a customer's requirements with them and supply a tailored power solution that meets their needs exactly," he said.
"We operate lean enterprise 6 Sigma working practices and the Dale brand has become synonymous in the power industry with providing customers with an immediate, pro-active response and a perfect technical solution to their requirements."
"Whether it is off-shore oil and gas platforms, the stock exchange or a hospital operating theatre, our products and expertise are now an integral part of many large, blue-chip companies' risk and disaster recovery management plans."
Looking ahead, the company's business plan is to achieve continued growth, driven through increasing sales in existing and new markets, on a world-wide basis. It is also keeping an eye on the future and where the next generation of "green" products will emerge from.
"We are constantly looking for opportunities to develop new products, to increase our offering to our customer base and develop new markets," Mr Wilkins added.
Background
The Dale Electric Group of Companies began in 1935, starting out as one man operating from his garden shed. In 1938 Erskine was founded and 30 years later was acquired by Dale Electric. In 1980 Dale opened the Dale Ottomotores generator manufacturing plant in Mexico.
Dale was acquired by TT electronics plc in 1994 and a year later the group also acquired Munradtech, Dawson Keith and Scorpio, five years later merging the brands. In 2009 offices were opened in Swindon, Aberdeen and the Middle East.
Its main UK office is now on the Eastfield Industrial Estate in Scarborough with its European Development and Test Centre at nearby Filey.
It has sales and service offices in Aberdeen, London and Swindon and in Brazil, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates.
Dale Power Solutions plc
Phone: +44 (0)1723 583511